Alec Gerbec
Signature Tyer
Home Waters – This is a bit tricky as the last 14 years of my life I have been living the vagabond life of guiding in a number of places. I guess my roots of when things got serious were in Southwest Colorado where rivers like the Animas, Los Pinos, San Juan, Florida, and the Dolores. That being said much of my time was also spent on the California and Oregon Coast Chasing Steelhead on rivers like the Gualala, Mattole, Redwood, Smith, Chetco and North Umpqua. Lastly, the saltwater has a huge influence on my life as well where I spent 4 years in the Seychelles and have also found myself all along the gulf coast of Florida.
About – My name is Alec Gerbec and I am originally from the Suburbs of Chicago where my fishing passion first kicked off in the local warm water fisheries. I attended Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado and instantly found that fly fishing was going to be a big part of my life with the Animas river flowing through town. During my years in Durango, I started to compete for a spot on Fly Fishing Team USA and was able to achieve this, being a team member for two years. After a couple of years of guiding for a local shop in town and some of the ranches in the area, I found myself drawn towards Alaska, where I ended up Guiding rainbows at Alaska’s Enchanted Lake Lodge for 8 years. The next progression was to find a saltwater destination and eventually found a guide position for Alphonse Fishing Company in the Seychelles. I ended up being the head guide for this operation for 4 years before taking a job with Umpqua Feather Merchants as the Southern Rockies Account Sales Manager.
Favorite Fly – Today it’s the The Muddler Minnow
Can be fished many different ways(floating, skated, submerged and swung, or stripped) and is way harder to tie than it looks!
What elements make for a great fly – First I would say a good hook choice as this is your palette for your creation and the most important connection to you and the fish. Why skimp on the one of the few things you can control in fishing, use high quality hooks! Functionality, and what I mean by this is you can add all the frills you want but does that make it do its job any better. If you are looking to sink a fly then sink it, don’t add so much material for profile that it’s a cork. If you want it to float then really consider the materials you are using and embrace their unique characteristics. Lastly and goes along with the functionality is profile. Dressing a fly to imitate something without over engineering it, is an absolute art. Find the right materials and apply the proper techniques and you will create a perfect tool for the job
Who are your mentors in the sport – My Mentors are not in the spot light and they never seemed to have the desire to do so. One of the first mentors that I feel like made a huge impression on how I operated as a guide and conducted a productive day of fishing is my good friend Scott Keller. He has guided the world(Idaho, Arizona, Alaska, Florida, Argentina, Russia, Mongolia, and the Seychelles) and wouldn’t tell you unless you asked. His pace and passion for the sport is something I wont forget, “go slow, go far.” My Second mentor is a good friend by the name of Dave Hall. You might know him for his artwork on the Umpqua catalogs, I know him from spending countless hours swinging flies on the North Umpqua. He has devoted himself to one river for much of his life, acting as a steward and willing to share all his knowledge with anybody.
Philosophy on fly fishing – Catch anything that Swims!
Website/Contact – agerbec@umpqua.com
Social Links –
Instagram:
@alecgerbec
@southrockbow
Facebook:
Alec Gerbec
Home Waters – This is a bit tricky as the last 14 years of my life I have been living the vagabond life of guiding in a number of places. I guess my roots of when things got serious were in Southwest Colorado where rivers like the Animas, Los Pinos, San Juan, Florida, and the Dolores. That being said much of my time was also spent on the California and Oregon Coast Chasing Steelhead on rivers like the Gualala, Mattole, Redwood, Smith, Chetco and North Umpqua. Lastly, the saltwater has a huge influence on my life as well where I spent 4 years in the Seychelles and have also found myself all along the gulf coast of Florida.
About – My name is Alec Gerbec and I am originally from the Suburbs of Chicago where my fishing passion first kicked off in the local warm water fisheries. I attended Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado and instantly found that fly fishing was going to be a big part of my life with the Animas river flowing through town. During my years in Durango, I started to compete for a spot on Fly Fishing Team USA and was able to achieve this, being a team member for two years. After a couple of years of guiding for a local shop in town and some of the ranches in the area, I found myself drawn towards Alaska, where I ended up Guiding rainbows at Alaska’s Enchanted Lake Lodge for 8 years. The next progression was to find a saltwater destination and eventually found a guide position for Alphonse Fishing Company in the Seychelles. I ended up being the head guide for this operation for 4 years before taking a job with Umpqua Feather Merchants as the Southern Rockies Account Sales Manager.
Favorite Fly – Today it’s the The Muddler Minnow
Can be fished many different ways(floating, skated, submerged and swung, or stripped) and is way harder to tie than it looks!
What elements make for a great fly – First I would say a good hook choice as this is your palette for your creation and the most important connection to you and the fish. Why skimp on the one of the few things you can control in fishing, use high quality hooks! Functionality, and what I mean by this is you can add all the frills you want but does that make it do its job any better. If you are looking to sink a fly then sink it, don’t add so much material for profile that it’s a cork. If you want it to float then really consider the materials you are using and embrace their unique characteristics. Lastly and goes along with the functionality is profile. Dressing a fly to imitate something without over engineering it, is an absolute art. Find the right materials and apply the proper techniques and you will create a perfect tool for the job
Who are your mentors in the sport – My Mentors are not in the spot light and they never seemed to have the desire to do so. One of the first mentors that I feel like made a huge impression on how I operated as a guide and conducted a productive day of fishing is my good friend Scott Keller. He has guided the world(Idaho, Arizona, Alaska, Florida, Argentina, Russia, Mongolia, and the Seychelles) and wouldn’t tell you unless you asked. His pace and passion for the sport is something I wont forget, “go slow, go far.” My Second mentor is a good friend by the name of Dave Hall. You might know him for his artwork on the Umpqua catalogs, I know him from spending countless hours swinging flies on the North Umpqua. He has devoted himself to one river for much of his life, acting as a steward and willing to share all his knowledge with anybody.
Philosophy on fly fishing – Catch anything that Swims!
Website/Contact – agerbec@umpqua.com
Social Links –
Instagram:
@alecgerbec
@southrockbow
Facebook:
Alec Gerbec